This is not a easy book but I thought the Snipet here was a bit misleading. what I say from this is that mention the Whitehead backstory but that's less than 5% of all the book.
In this book, maybe I read a different one, we follow Strauss as he tries to redeem himself from his crime and getting a new chance at living.
Don't get me wrong this is totally Faust all over again.
One of the few complaints I've seen here was repetitive (OK True) I belive this story could have been trimmed down 50 or 75 pages. Some complains was that this was very graphic violence (don't agree at all); scary (maybe there is one or two spooky instances) ; erotic (nope - not really - there's one sex scene or so).
To me the ending was kind of unfulfilling to be honest. I expected something different. This was anticlimatic.
Comparing with all other novels I've read, this was my least favourite BUT I gave it a four so, there's that. If you wanna get in Clive Barker, start with Book of BLood (it's 6 compilations with 4 stories each). There's Cabal (I discovered it after hearing Cradle of Filth Midian) or if you enjyo the movie go Hellbound Heart (mr Pinhead eheh).